This relates to testing of peripheral devices using different communications protocols.
Many kinds of portable electronic devices include processors or systems-on-a-chip (SOCs) that communicate with peripheral components such as memory, displays, or various transducers. Various different protocols are in use in such devices. For example, an older such protocol is the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) protocol, while a newer such protocol is the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) protocol, which is a high-speed serial interface protocol.
In the assembly of electronic devices, the various components normally will have been tested individually in advance, but it is nevertheless important to test the communications between the components of the assembled devices. However, as new protocols for communications between components are developed, it becomes necessary to have testing equipment and methods for each protocol.